live review

Maybe Bloody Death Skull is the missing link between the innocence of youth and the cynicism of the adult who yearns to be young again. They incorporate trippy costumes and obscure instruments. You might start questioning your existence, remembering your childhood (for better or worse) and getting in touch with some uncomfortable truths about the world.

With reverence for such staples of Americana (yes I know Young is from Canada), Boy & Bear has a lot to live up to but the band certainly met the mark, especially in categories of self-exploration, lyrical depth, and haunting harmonies.

“She has the voice of an angel” was whispered amongst the crowd more than a few times. Her nearly pitch-perfect, angelic voice was only trumped by her excellent projection while staying perfectly tight, landing on every note with the finesse of a butterfly and unleashing the power of a lioness upon belting select hard-to-hit notes.

The Entrance Band. So brooding, so mercurial, and yet so full of the alchemistic gold dust you cannot help but be transformed. It’s what Hendrix advocates call “experienced’ or what many of those illustrious Ted Talks speakers reveal.

Just as stupendous were Groovy Rednecks, as big Tex Troester sweated and howled through what he claimed was their 776th gig. Scene aristos dallying outside on Hewett debated what genre this latest onslaught amounted to. It sounded to me like Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen trying to thread a biplane through their own skulls.

The headliners launched without ado into a set as soulful as it was loud as hell. People began to flail around and dance awkwardly as photographers prowled, snapping excitedly and scuttling in and out of the way of jumping feet and swaying torsos.

Opening with “Look On Down,” and playing all of the “Fade Into You” era hits, the audience is like one gigantic sea, every body like a molecule connected side by side, Mazzy’s lunar presence determining the push and pull of emotions, like the moon governs tide. My eyes were sewn shut during “Into Dust,” and I awoke to falling into the arms of a stranger!